Equipment unit

ABSTRACT

A TROUGH LIKE CABINET ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE WIRING CONTROLS, HEADSETS, AND OTHER EQUIPMENT REQUIRED TO PLACE A NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN COMMUNICATION WITH A TEACHER AND A CONSOLE IN A CLASS ENVIROMENT, A PLURALITY OF SUCH CABINETS BEING ADAPTED FOR DISPOSITION WITHIN A CLASSROOM AT A LEVEL BELOW NORMAL DESK HEIGHT BUT ABOVE THE FLOOR. EACH CABINET IS DIVIDED INTO SECTIONS, ONE FOR EACH STUDENT, WITH EACH SECTION HAVING A HINGED COVER, THE COVERS OPENING ALTERNATELY TO EACH SIDE OF THE CABINET AND BEING LOCKED IN THEIR CLOSED POSITIONS BY A LOCKING SYSTEM CON-   TROLLED FROM THE CONSOLE. EACH CABINET SECTION HAS A READILY REMOVABLE FLOOR SPACED FROM THE CABINET BOTTOM TO FORM A CHANNEL WITHIN WHICH THE WIRING MAY BE PLACED, THE ELEMENTS DIVIDING THE CABINET INTO SECTIONS ALSO BEING READILY REMOVABLE.

Jan. 5, 197i E, RAB|NEAU 3,552,042

EQUIPMENT UNIT .xiled April 14, 1967 INVENTCR 22 ELI RABINEAU ATTORNEY3,552,042 EQUIPMENT UNIT Eli Rabineau, 78 Stoneleigh Road, Scarsdale,N.Y. 10583 Filed Apr. 14, 1967, Ser. No. 630,947 Int. Cl. A47b 47/00,41/00 U.S. Cl. 35-60 3I Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A trough likecabinet adapted to receive the wiring, controls, headsets, and otherequipment required to place a number of students in communication with ateacher and a console in a classroom environment; a plurality of suchcabinets being adapted for disposition within a classroom at a levelbelow normal desk height but above the floor. Each cabinet is dividedinto sections, one for each student, with each section having a hingedcover; the covers opening alternately to each side of the cabinet andbeing locked in their closed positions by a locking system controlledfrom the console. Each cabinet section has a readily removable oorspaced from hte cabinet bottom to form a channel within which the wiringmay be placed; the elements dividing the cabinet into sections alsobeing readily removable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of application This invention relatesto equipment units; and more particularly to units adapted to houseequipment, such as sound receiving gear, at a readily accessible levelabove the floor but below normal desk height, in a remotely controlledlockable cabinet which may be unobtrusively disposed in a room so as notto detract from other uses of the room.

Description of prior art Equipment units, such as those commonly used inclassroom environments for language labs or the like, have for a longtime taken the form of large pieces of furni'- ture which while servingto isolate the students one from the other, also rendered the classroomuseless for any other purposes; thus denying the school the general usethereof and forcing the taxpayers to expend large sums of money foradditional classroom space.

With the advent of sound receiving equipment, in the form of headsets,which in effect isolated the user from all except what was beingreceived therethrough, the large pieces of furniture disappeared to bereplaced by desks or tables, some with displaceable partitions to rendersame usable for general purposes, But such desks and tables had to bespecially made to facilitate the wiring and other controlsinterconnecting the headset and the teachers console thus greatlyreducing the types of desks and tables usable therewith and greatlyrestricting the other uses of the classroom. In addition storage of thecontrols and headsets to prevent their being stolen or tinkered with bypersons not authorized to use same is either nonexistent or quitecumbersome with such desks and tables; while the servicing, repairing,rewiring and replacement of such equipment is either impossible orimpractical.

Some classrooms have resorted to the use of plug-in type jacks, disposedin the walls or oors thereof, to avoid both the large pieces offurniture and the special desks and tables, but the storage servicing,repairing, rewiring and replacement problems present even greaterproblems in this environment than in some of the others.

nited States Patent -O ice SUMMARY OF INVENTION It is therefore anobject of this invention to provide an improved equipment unit.

Another object is to provide an improved equipment unit for housingsound receiving equipment, and the controls therefor, in a classroomtype environment.

Still another object is to provide a remotely controlled lockableequipment unit for housing sound receiving equipment, and the controlstherefor, in a classroom type environment.

A further object is to provide an equipment unit for housing soundreceiving equipment, and the controls therefor, in a classroom typeenvironment, unobtrusively at a level above the oor but below normaldesk or table height.

A still further object is to provide an equipment unit for housing soundreceiving equipment, and the controls therefor in such a manner that theequipment, controls, and associated wiring and other elements arereadily accessible for service repair and replacement.

This invention involves equipment units of the type utilized to housesound receiving gear, and the controls therefor, in a classroomenvironment; and contemplates providing trough like cabinets fordisposition about a classroom to house sets of such sound receiving gearfor individual student use. Each cabinet is divided into individualstudent sections with remotely controlled locks therefor, and is furtherformed with readily removable side and floor partitions to facilitatethe eicient wiring, servicing, rewiring and replacement of the equipmenttherewithin.

In carrying out the invention, according to a preferred embodimentthereof, the equipment unit is formed as a hollow trough like cabinetdisposed on standards above the oor level and with the top thereofdisposed below normal desk or table height. The cabinet is divided byreadily removable partitions into individual student sections and isformed with a bottom and removable floor sections spaced therefrom toprovide a channel for wiring. A hinged cover is provided for eachcabinet section with alternate covers opening to opposite sides of thecabinet to facilitate student disposition adjacent the cabinet. Eachstudent section houses a control unit and a headset which may be removedtherefrom for use by the student; with both the control unit and headsetinterconnected through suitable wiring to a teachers consoleappropriately disposed in the classroom. A lock, controlled from theteachers console, is provided for each cabinet section; with the numberof sections in each cabinet and the nurnber of cabinets in eachclassroom depending on the particular arrangement desired.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention in its detailsof construction and arrangement of parts, will be seen from the abovefrom the following description of the preferred embodiment whenconsidered in conjunction with the drawings, and from the appendedclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a classroom having installed therein aplurality of equipment units embodying the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of one of the equipment units of FIG.1, but on a larger scale than FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the equipment unit of FIG. 2 showing in phantomstudent desks as they would be positioned adjacent thereto;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional View of the equipment unit of FIG. 2;and

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of a portion of the upper part of theequipment unit of FIG. 2 cut away in part to better show the detailsthereof.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT For convenience, the invention willbe described as applied to a cabinet for housing a control panel and aheadset for student use as in a language lab, the cabinet being disposedat a level above the iloor and below that of the normal student desk ortable, and further being divided into sections each with a hinged coverlocked in place by a remotely controlled lock; it being understoodnevertheless that without departing from the scope of this inventionthat subject cabinet may not necessarily house a control unit separatefrom the headset or may in the alternative house other equipment items,that it may be disposed at any convenient level even at desk or tableheight or above same if so desired, that it need not be partitioned,that the access opening need not be on top or in the form of a cover,and that it need not be locked by a remotely controlled lock or not evenlocked at all.

With reference to FIG. 1 there is shown generally at a classroom withinwhich is disposed a teachers console 12 and a plurality of equipmentunits in the form of cabinets 14 (FIGS. 1, 2, and 4) spaced apart topermit the positioning of student desks or tables 16 (FIGS. l and 3)thereabout.

Cabinets 14 are in the form of elongated troughs having a bottom wall 18(FIGS. 4 and 5), a pair of side walls 20, 22, and a plurality of hingedtop covers 24a, 24h, 24C, etc. all spaced apart to form therebetween ahollow 26 (FIG. 4). A hollow tubular support 40 (FIGS. 2 and 4),disposed beneath and appropriately secured to bottom wall 18 of cabinet14, is itself supported by upright standards 42 secured to the classroomoor 44 as by plate members 46 and threaded members 48 (FIG. 4). Theheight of standards 42, support 40 and cabinet 14, in this embodiment,is such as to set tops 24a, 24h, 24e, etc. of cabinets 14 below thelevel of the tops of desks or tables 16 (FIG. 2) and in this mannercabinets 14 do not detract from other uses of classroom 10.

A plurality of partitions 60a, 60h, 60C (FIG. 5), slidably disposed inside walls and 22 divide cabinet 14 into individual student sections62a, 62b, 62C, etc. each adapted to have disposed therein a control unit66, and a headset 68 (FIG. 4) interconnected through a suitable cable 70to console 12. Other wires 72 interconnect headsets 68 with cable 70 andare of suitable length to permit removal of headsets 68 from cabinet 14for use by the students.

A oor section 80a (FIGS. 4 and 5), 8011 (FIG. 5) etc. is disposed ineach student section 62a, 62b, 62C, etc. on risers 82 (FIG. 4) to formbetween floor sections 80a, 80h, etc, and bottom wall 18 of cabinets 14a channel 84 within which cables 70 and any other cables are disposed ina readily accessible manner. An aperture 86 is formed in each oorsection 80a, 80b to permit wires 72 to extend therethrough ininterconnecting headsets 68 to cable 70.

Each top cover 24a, 24h, 24C is attached, as by hinges 90 (FIGS. 4 and5), to either side wall 22 or side wall 20 in alternate fashion so thatstudent sections 62a, 62h, 62e etc. open to alternate sides of cabinet14 for a more convenient disposition of desks 16. A bracket 92 (FIG. 4)suitably carried by a partition and by a top cover 24 serves to retaintop cover 24 in an open position (as shown in dot-dash lines in FIG. 4).If desired suitable notches (not shown) may be formed in side walls 20and 22 to permit wires 70 to extend therethrough even if covers 24 areclosed.

A hook like lock member 96 (FIGS. 4 and 5) is secured to each top cover24 for cooperation with a conventional lock 98 remotely controlled fromconsole 12 to restrict access to headsets 68, control units 66 and theother equipment in cabinet 14 to authorized personnel.

When it is desired to use headsets 68 the person in charge unlocks locks98 permitting top covers 24 to be raised and headsets 68 to be removedfrom cabinet 14. Top covers 24 may then be closed or if desired leftopen to permit the students access to control units 66. At the end ofthe class headsets 68 are returned and cabinets 14 locked.

In order to service, repair, replace or rewire the equipment, locks 98are again released and top covers 24 opened to permit removal and returnof either one or more oor sections and if required partitions 60.

From the above description it will thus be seen that a novel andimproved equipment unit has been provided for housing sound receivinggear and associated components; which unit is unobtrusive to other needsof the room within which it is disposed, is easy to install, permitsready access to all the components of the equipment to facilitateservice, repair, and replacement thereof and is easily locked torestrict access to the equipment to authorized personnel.

It is understood that although I have shown the preferred form of myinvention that various modications may be made in the details thereofwithout departing from the spirit as comprehended by the followingclaims.

I claim:

1. An equipment unit adapted to be xedly disposed in a classroom and tohouse sound receiving gear and associated components: comprising (a) anelongated trough like housing having a bottom wall and spaced side wallsforming therebetween a hollow;

(b) a plurality of partitions slidably disposed between said side wallsto divide at least a portion of said hollow into individual sections;

(c) a oor section for each of said sections spaced from said bottom wallto form therebetween a channel;

(d) said partitions extending above but not below said oor;

(e) a top cover for each of said sections hingedly carried by a sidewall of said cabinet for movement between an open and a closed position,adjacent ones of said top covers opening to alternate sides of saidcabinet; and

(1g) a remotely controlled lock for each of said sections to lock thetop cover thereof in its closed position.

2. A classroom for use as a language laboratory or the like comprising(a) a teachers console;

(b) at least one equipment cabinet having a bottom wall, a pair ofsp-aced side walls, and at least one top cover forming therebetween ahollow;

(c) at least one headset disposed in said hollow and interconnected bysuitable wiring to said teachers console;

(d) lock means for securing said top cover closed to preventunauthorized access to said headset; and

(e) at least one oor partition disposed in said cabinet spaced from thebottom wall thereof to form there; between a wiring channel and adaptedto receive at least a portion of said wiring interconnecting saidheadset to said teachers console;

(f) said floor partition being easily removable to permit access to saidwiring channel.

3. A classroom for use as a language laboratory or the like; comprising(a) a teachers console;

(b) at least one equipment cabinet having a bottom wall, a pair ofspaced side walls, and at least one top cover forming therebetween ahollow;

(c) said cabinet being divided into a plurality of individual sections;

(d) a top cover provided for each of said sections;

(e) said top covers opening to alternate sides of said cabinet;

(f) at least one headset in each of said sections, each of said headsetsbeing interconnected by suitable Wiring to said teachers console; and

(g) lock means for securing said top covers closed to preventunauthorized access to said headsets.

References Cited 6 3,152,848 10/1964 Kalk 35-35X 3,166,859 1/1965 Alter35-35 3,167,871 2/1965 Brooks 35-35 OTHER REFERENCES Sears Roebuck andCo. catalogue for Fall and Winter 1963, p. 1053 only.

HARLA-ND S. SKOGQUIST, Primary Examiner U.S. C1. X.R.

